Self-supporting roofing elements with connecting means



Aug. 19, 1969 H. HASEL ETAL 3,461,502

SELFSUPPORTINC ROOFING ELEMENTS WITH CONNECTING MEANS Filed Feb. 10,1965 INVENTORS Ila/v2. Mun. orro we. r

I BY

ATTORNEYS United States Patent Int. Cl.A63h3/10, 33/12 U.S. CI. 46-23 3Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Toy building elements for the assemblyof a roof structure, the individual elements being essentially h-shapedin a side elevation view, wherein the hook portion of the h is providedon the underside of the element in the form of a resilient tongue andboth the upper portion and tongue portion are identically formed withembossed longitudinal impressions which cause the individual elements toappear U-shaped in a transverse sectional view. Between the longitudinalimpressions, the tongue portion is slotted longitudinally to form twoseparate tongue portions. Additionally, elements are provided for use atridge portions of a roof structure which have a cylindrical portion atone end of the element, the cylindrical portion having a bore at one endand a projection at the other end so that several elements may beinterlocked at the ridge of the roof.

The present invention relates to roofing tiles for the assembly ofroots, especially for toy buildings which are assembled of individualcomponents.

Most of the roofing tiles which are presently known for this purposeconsist of a plate of plastic which is embossed on the upper side inaccordance with the shape of the individual tiles. The embossed partsare produced by providing the mold with corresponding recesses.

Apart from the fact that such tiles have no realistic appearance, theyhave the considerable disadvantage that the plastic plates have acertain size and can therefore only be used for roofs of a correspondingsize, unless a larger number of such plates of different sizes isavailable.

Although individual roofing tiles are also known, they usually have atriangular or smiliar cross section and are combined with each other toform a tiled roof by being fitted upon the supporting components. Suchroof structures have likewise an unrealistic appearance and arefurthermore dependent upon a certain roof inclination.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome these disadvantagesand to provide a roofing tile which has a very realistic appearance andmay in combination with other tiles of the same kind be employed forcovering a roof of any desired inclination.

For attaining this object the invention provides that the individualroofing tiles are substantially h-shaped, as seen in side elevation, andthat the hook portion is provided on the inside of the tile and in theform of a resilient tongue.

These and further features of the invention will become more clearlyapparent from the following detailed description thereof which is to beread with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- FIGURE 1shows a side view of a tile according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 shows a perspective top view thereof;

FIGURE 3 shows a perspective bottom view thereof;

3,461,602 Patented Aug. 19, 1969 FIGURE 4 shows an end view, as seen inthe direction A in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 shows an end view, as seen in the direction B in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 shows a perspective top view of two tiles partly on each other;

FIGURE 7 shows a diagrammatic illustration of a roof structure;

FIGURE 8 shows a perspective top view of a ridge tile;

FIGURE 9 shows a perspective top view of another ridge tile which is tobe associated with the ridge tile according to FIGURE 8; while FIGURE 10shows a perspective view of a complete ridge tile which is assembled ofthe two tiles according to FIGURES 8 and 9.

As illustrated in the drawings, the under-surface of the roofing tile,or upper portion of the toy building element according to the inventionis provided with a hook-shaped part 2 which forms a resilient tongue,connected by a web portion or connecting part 7 to the upper portion,the major portion of the resilient tongue extending below the upperportion of the element in spaced parallel relation thereto. This tongueis provided with a slot 3 extending longitudinally from the free edge ofthe resilient tongue, which partly divides the tongue into two tongueportions which are independently movable to a limited extent and renderthe tongue structure very elastic.

The tile, or the upper portion of the toy building element according tothe invention has a symmetrical shape and is provided with embossedangularly-shaped configurations or, more specifically, U-shaped parts 5and 6 which extend longitudinally from one end of the tile to the other.The connecting part 7 of the resilient tongue 2 which extendssubstantially vertical to the plane of the tile also serves as a stopfor limiting the distance along which one tile may be slipped over theend of another tile. The resilient tongue 2 is embossed so as to haveangularly-shaped configuration or U-shaped parts 5 and 6' at each sideof the slot 3, having a. configuration like those of the tile or upperportion of the toy building element itself, and these U-shaped parts ofthe tile and of the tongue part are exactly superimposed to each other.

The spaced parallel upper portion and tongue of each building elementdefine spaces therebetween adapted for receiving mating portions ofother toy building elements.

For assembling a roof, the tiles are slipped over each other in themanner as indicated diagrammatically in FIGURE 7 and in perspective inFIGURE 6. A roof structure which is thus formed is self-supporting.

For forming the ridge of a roof, the tiles are employed which areillustrated in FIGURES 8 to 10. Each ridge tile is composed of two parts9 and 13 each of which is provided with a cylindrical end portion 10 or12, respectively, which has a length equal to one half of the width ofthe tile part 9 or 13 and is laterally offset relative to thecylindrical end portion on the other tile part. For connecting the twotile parts 9 and 13 to each other, one of the cylindrical end portionsis provided with a bore 11 and the other with a pin 14 which is insertedinto the bore 11 in the direction of the arrow as shown between FIGURES8 and 9. FIGURE 10 illustrates the two tile parts in the connectedposition. Since each of these tile parts of one ridge tile is alsoprovided with a hook-shaped tongue like the tongue 2 on a normal tile asshown in FIGURES l, 3, and 5, they may be slipped over and thusconnected to the adjacent outer tiles and the adjacent complete ridgetiles will thus also be connected to each other, as indicated in thedotted lines in FIGURE 10. The two sides of the complete roof may bepivoted relative to each other about the common. axis of the bores 11and pins 14 of all of the ridge tiles, and the roof may thus be adjustedto have any desired inclination.

Having thus fully disclosed our invention, what We claim is:

1. A toy building element for the construction of selfsupporting roofstructures, comprising an upper portion, means for securing the upperportion of a similar element, said means including a tongue dependingfrom the under-surface of said upper portion in spaced parallel relationthereto, said tongue having a longitudinal slot extending to its freeedge, said tongue and upper portion having matching angularly-shapedconfigurations at each side of said slot defining spaces adapted toreceive mating portions of said similar elements.

2. A toy building element as defined in claim 1, further comprising amember secured to and projecting from one end of said element andextending substantially from one lateral edge of said elementsubstantially to the center of its Width, said member having a pinprojecting from one lateral face thereof in a direction substantiallyparallel to said end of said element and a bore slightly larger thansaid pin diameter in the opposite lateral face of said member, said borealigned with said pin and extending to a depth adapted to receive thefull length of said pin.

3. A toy building element as defined in claim 1, Wherein the connectionbetween said tongue and said upper portion simultaneously constitutes astop, limiting the distance along which said element may be slipped overthe end of another element.

References Cited German printed application No. 1,168,305, publishedApr. 16, 1964.

F. BARRY SHAY, Primary Examiner

